Unreadable.

Short, sweet, and interesting, On Bullshit takes a hard look at what bullshit really is, and why it’s so damaging to society. I won’t try to explain the thesis here, because that would defeat the purpose and I wouldn’t be able to do it as eloquently as Frankfurt. I take some issue with his notion that lying doesn’t necessarily limit your ability to tell the truth and be believed as much as bullshitting does – “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” strikes a chord for a reason – but there are definitely nuggets of goodness in the essay. It might seem lighthearted, but it’s not: there’s a real message there, and although it might seem obvious on the surface, it takes a thoughtful, careful eye and a sharp mind to dig deep and uncover the true insidiousness of this growing social phenomenon. At thirty minutes or less, On Bullshit is a must-read.

Taking bullshit seriously! Why there’s so much of it in our newspapers, radio shows, TV news, etc. etc. A quick and dirty read.

Without meaning to be cute, this book is a little bit of bullshit.

It deliberately conceals its primary agenda, which is to undercut cultural liberalism in a cutesy academic way, all summed up in the last line: “Sincerity itself is bullshit.”

Nonetheless enjoyable, and superficially relevant—points out a lot of the abuses of speech that have become far too common, full of evasiveness and convoluted crap (by the way, Jon Stewart is nobly battling this style of speech, which can be seen issuing forth from anyone on Fox News and Scott McClellan).

But no matter how much you hate relativism, sincerity (even newfangled sincerity) is, in fact, not bullshit.

If you buy the book you’re in for a treat. Not only a good, provactive read but a VERY nice hardcover binding. As a physical object this book is enjoyable to hold, handle and read.

Thoughtful, intellectual without being pretentious, and a quick read, Bullshit is a thinking and drinking-person’s inspiration for provocative conversations with like-minded people. )(For those in academia, it reads like an engaging conference or seminar paper.)

Here’s the first two paragraphs:

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern, nor attracted much sustained inquiry.

In consequence, we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, we have no theory. I propose to begin the development of a theoretical understanding of bullshit, mainly by providing some tentative and exploratory philosophical analysis. I shall not consider the rhetorical uses and misuses of bullshit. My aim is simply to give a rough account of what bullshit is and how it differs from what it is not—or (putting it somewhat differently) to articulate, more or less sketchily, the structure of its concept.

I read this in about 30 minutes while waiting for a friend to finish shopping at Urban Outfitters. I felt like an idiot when I started laughing out loud by myself in the middle of a clothing store, but whatever.

listen to the audio book, what a hilarious piece of audio to listen too.. wonderful stuff

A good half hour read. I liked that he used Wittgenstein as an example. Further proof that all of the people I like are somehow connected to good old Ludwig.